Company email (February 2013):
"Aha, that’s a great question regarding fining. You are absolutely correct in worrying about fining, as they have used gelatin, egg whites, even ox blood (no longer allowed) to either aid in settling or to remove unwanted tannins. I have never fined my red wines since my first vintage in 1996, and I do not fine my top Chardonnays. I’m philosophically opposed to fining as it seems to me that if the wine is too astringent, then the grapes were picked on the wrong day, the equipment and handling were not gentle enough, or inappropriate barrels were used. Its trying to correct a mistake, while I would like to avoid a mistake. So, pick when skin tannins are lower, I use no pumps for moving grapes, its either shoveled by hand or I use a bin turner on the forklift and I only use French oak and not too much of it. I rack wines carefully with nitrogen gas and age for a long time for wines to settle clear naturally, and then give a light filtration prior to bottling, and so don’t need other clarification.

When I press the white grapes I use only the first 130 gallons or so of high quality juice for my Chardonnay program. There is a lot more juice still left in the grapes, so after this I continue to press, but divert this juice to my “Sonoma White” program. As this juice is higher in tannins derived from the skins, I do use a small amount of fining to help this. I generally use milk, adding about 200 mls of Clover Whole milk per barrel (I like the clover products, found in whole foods etc and they use no hormones and it’s the only milk I use at home). I have sometimes used a very light dose of ininglass as well. The Sonoma White, and occasionally my Rose, have been the only wines fined in the history of the winery.

Its interesting that the Australians are now putting this info on the labels, as traces may remain in the wine. I believe the FDA is about to make this mandatory here in the US as well. I think it’s a good thing. My red wines will generally say” Ingredients: grapes and sulfites only”. Some times I add yeast in years when the grape quality and microbe levels are compromised by rain. Otherwise its just grapes and sulfites. I do add yeast to white wines."